Colleen Lewis – författare

How the police are policed is no longer just a domestic issue. The involvement of police,and other security forces, in systematic abuses of human rights in many developing countries, as well as in so called developed countries, has placed the control of police on a number of international agendas. More and more countries are experimenting with different forms of police accountability and many are turning to civilian oversight bodies in an attempt to improve the process. This book examines recent experiences with, and prospects for, civilian oversight. It looks at how this relatively new method of police accountability has been interpreted and implemented in a wide range of jurisdictions around the world. While looking at recent experiences in countries which have used the civilian oversight process for some years (the United States of America, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Australia), it also looks at recent attempts to establish civilian oversight bodies in South Africa, Israel, Central and South America and Palestine.Some chapters explain how, in several of these countries, oversight of police conduct is a fundamental governance issues, and relates to concerns about democratisation and rebuilding civil society. Other chapters deal with the complex issue of how to evaluate public complaints mechanisms and the political conditions that enable or frustrate the introduction and maintenance of effective civilian oversight.

The 'war on terror' and ongoing terrorist attacks around the world have generated a growing body of literature on national and international measures to counteract terrorist activity. This detailed study investigates an aspect of contemporary counter-terrorism that has been largely overlooked; the impact of these measures on the continued viability of the democratic state. Democratic nations are now facing an unprecedented challenge - to respond to global terrorism without simultaneously overturning fundamental human and political rights. The book addresses the critical question of whether, in the context of the 'war on terror', the national security imperative has compromised the democratic state. This book draws together academics, public policy practitioners, politicians and journalists to discuss policies introduced by democratic governments which threaten the nature of the democratic state. It will be of great interest to graduate and undergraduate students in politics, public policy, international relations, criminology and terrorism and counter-terrorism studies.

This book addresses the education and training of Members of Parliament (MPs). It examines existing training programs offered in various countries around the world, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses and makes recommendations for a new approach, which aligns the professional development of MPs to 21st century requirements. Contributors address the role of parliamentarians, how to prepare them for their multi-faceted functions, the importance of ethics in any program, the requirement for more sophisticated adult learning approaches, human resource implications and the need to reform existing education and training models.  The book will appeal to scholars in the fields of political science, adult education and human resource management, as well as to parliamentarians interested in enhancing their skills so as to perform more efficiently and effectively.